Vermont Edges Men's Basketball, 80-77

BURLINGTON, Vt. - Jeremy Baker (Washington, D.C.) scored a
career-high 22 points and Justin Rutty (Newburgh, N.Y.) added a
double-double of 14 points and 10 rebounds, but the Quinnipiac
University men's basketball team was defeated at Vermont, 80-77,
Sunday afternoon at Patrick Gym. James Feldeine (New York, N.Y.)
added 21 points for the Bobcats, compiling his fifth consecutive
20-point game. With the loss, the Bobcats fall to 4-5, while the
Catamounts improve to 7-4.

James Johnson (Queens, N.Y.) also finished in double-figures with
11 points on 5-for-6 shooting, while adding a game-high five
assists. Baker added four rebounds, three assists and three steals
to his point today, while Feldeine added eight rebounds, three
steals and two assists.

Quinnipiac took a three-point lead into the locker room at
halftime, riding Baker's 13 points. With the score tied at 36-36 in
the final seconds, Johnson connected on a lay-up with seven seconds
left. The inbounds pass was stolen by Baker, who was fouled, and
made one-of-two free throws to give the Bobcats a 39-36 advantage
leading into halftime. Neither team could manage a greater lead
than five points in the initial stanza, with the Bobcats'
five-point cushion at the 14:09 mark being the largest.

It was more back-and-forth basketball to begin the second half.
Rutty made a pair of layups in the first two-plus minutes to help
the Bobcats manage a five-point lead. But Vermont hung around,
twice tying the game and twice taking a one-point advantage by the
14-minute mark. Quinnipiac gained its most separation with a 7-0
run, capped by Jonathan Cruz's (Lawrence, Mass.) jumper at the
11:20 mark, giving the Bobcats a six-point lead.

But Vermont scored six in a row, and eventually tied it once again,
57-57, at the 10:03 mark. Eight lead changes later, Garvey Young's
three-pointer with 3:08 gave Vermont a lead it wouldn't relinquish.
The Bobcats had an opportunity to tie the game with 21 seconds
remaining, but after Feldeine curled around a screen and caught a
pass for a potential look at a game-tying jumper, he slipped and
turned the ball over.

Following one-of-two made free throws by Young, Quinnipiac still
had a chance to tie it, down just three points. But Dave Johnson's
(Jackson, N.J.) three-point attempt from the right wing at the
buzzer hit front iron and fell harmlessly to the floor.

The Bobcats now take nine days off for final exams before returning
to action Dec. 23, when Quinnipiac welcomes Columbia to the TD Bank
Sports Center. Opening tip is scheduled for 7 p.m.